We’re proud to share that the under-construction Makwa Waakaa’igan Indigenous Centre of Cultural Excellence (Algoma University, Sault Ste. Marie) was recently featured in The Globe and Mail.
The article focuses on what makes this project distinct: it is being shaped through storytelling and Indigenous teachings, with guidance from Elders, survivors, and the land itself. Makwa Waakaa’igan is a survivor-led national centre being built on the former site of Shingwauk Hall, and will support truth-telling, healing, and education for current and future generations. When complete, it will showcase the work of the Children of Shingwauk Alumni Association (CSAA) and provide a home for important archives and collections tied to the history and lived experiences of survivors.
Design decisions are rooted in culture and symbolism, informing the building’s form, orientation, and spatial experience. The feature describes how the building draws from Indigenous concepts of direction, water, and interconnection, translating these ideas into architecture that honours the past while looking forward. It’s an example of how meaning can be embedded into the full process of making a building, not added afterward.
For us, it’s a clear reminder that buildings are more than structure. They are shaped by people, by community leadership, memory, values, and intention. Our role as structural engineers is to support that vision with the rigour and care needed to make it buildable, durable, and true to the design.
Read the Globe and Mail feature: here
Learn more about the project: here
Architects: Moriyama Teshima Architects + Smoke Architecture
Partners: Algoma University + Children of Shingwauk Alumni Association (CSAA)
